The Federal Trade Commission has settled with a tech support scammer, extracting $1 million-plus in assets for restitution.
The FTC last month launched Operation Tech Trap, a crackdown on tech support operators.
In October, the FTC alleged that Global Access Technical Support (also doing business as Global SConnect, Yubdata Tech and Technolive), Source Pundit (also as OneSource Tech Support), Helios Digital Media, Rajiv Chhatwal, Rupinder Kaur, and Harinder Singh placed bogus pop-up ads on comptuers claiming an infection and selling the cure via telemarketers based in India claiming they were associated with Apple or Microsoft.
As part of the settlement, the defendants can't market or promote any tech support product or service and agreed to give up assets of more than $1 million that will be used for restitution for victims of the scams.
“When tech support scams pop up, the FTC will take action,” said Tom Pahl, acting director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Today’s settlements, along with the agency’s recent Operation Tech Trap actions, underscore the FTC’s commitment to protecting consumers from tech support scams.”
The FTC vote to approve the settlement, which must still be approved by a district court judge (usually a pro forma approval) was 2-0.
